Injured Iraq Veteran Dedicated to Keeping Tangy Table Sauce Available

By Richard Rhinehart

Holbrook, New York, May 21, 2013 – A tangy table sauce created by a distinguished Marine Corporal is seeing life after its creator’s death, thanks to the efforts of a Marine injured during active duty in Iraq.

Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell, severely wounded in October, 2004 when a mortar shell hit his tent and sent shrapnel into his head and body, currently produces and distributes Gung Ho! Sauce through his Gung-Ho! Supplies website.

Originally created by Gettysburg, Pennsylvania resident Corp. Seamus Garrahy as a part of an expansive food service business, the Gung Ho! Sauce includes a variety of flavors and seasonings. Served to thousands of veterans and active military service men and women who participated in Garrahy’s “Steaks and Beers” camp outs at his Gettysburg farm, as well as to participants of World T.E.A.M. Sports’ annual Face of America bicycle ride to Gettysburg, the sauce adds a zesty flavor to most foods. At the conclusion of the April, 2013 Face of America ride, bottles of the Gung Ho! Sauce were on lunch tables for use by participating injured veterans, able-bodied riders and their families.

A bottle of Gung-Ho! Sauce. Courtesy Tim Maxwell.

Following his return to the United States to recover from his head wounds, Maxwell created the Wounded Warrior Regiment at Camp Lejeune and Camp Pendleton to assist injured Marines and their families. He also created the non-profit SemperMax Support Fund, which offers ongoing support to service members and their families nationally during their recovery from injuries sustained in action.

Maxwell assumed management of the Gung Ho! Sauce after Garrahy’s passing in January 2012 from cancer. He donates 25 percent of the revenue from the sales of the sauce to the SemperMax Support Fund, which is seeking to reach more injured veterans and their families in 2013.

“He had asked us to keep his sauce alive, so we are trying,” said the 46-year-old veteran, who retired from the Marines in 2009 owing to his traumatic brain injury. With assistance from his wife Shannon, Maxwell sells and distributes Garrahy’s sauce to individuals, selected restaurants and the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia. Efforts are also underway to introduce the sauce to select military commissaries, but “no luck yet,” said Maxwell.

Although Maxwell is a supporter of the Face of America ride, having provided complimentary bottles of the Gung Ho! Sauce for the Gettysburg lunch tables in 2012 and 2013, he doesn’t see himself participating in the 110-mile journey. “I am a huge believer in fitness, I just don’t want to start riding again,” he said. “I used to be an addicted triathlon runner, including five Ironmans, but no more.”

Richard Rhinehart serves as Director of Communications for World T.E.A.M. Sports.